South American weevils released in UK waterways to tackle invasive weed

South American weevils have been released into Britain’s waterways by the government in order to tackle the invasive species floating pennywort.

It is highly unusual to release non-native species into the wild to tackle invasive species, and this is the first time biocontrol has been used to tackle pennywort.

Since 2011, the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), with Defra funding, has been investigating the potential use of a biocontrol agent for floating pennywort.

Djamila Djeddour, a senior scientific officer at CABI, said: “Following years of extensive research into the potential biocontrol of floating pennywort, we are pleased and excited to have released the weevil into the wild